Yemisi Izuora
The Nigerian Agricultural Insurance Corporation (NAIC), has observed the impact of climate change on the agriculture sector and has therefore become imperative for all farmers in the country.
Mr Andrew Uzomah, Branch Manager of NAIC in Enugu State, said this on Thursday in Enugu during the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) three-day Capacity Building Training Programme for Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu and Ogun States Insurance Suppliers and Other Value Chain Actors.
The three-day capacity building is with the theme: “Capacity Building/Technical Assistance Support to IFAD Value Chain Development Programme (VCDP) Financial Suppliers and Other Value Chain Actors on Agriculture Insurance Processes for Smallholder Farmers and Stakeholders”.
Uzomah said that insurance would help to reduce losses that farmers would incur due to unpredictability of the weather as a direct fall out of the climate change.
According to him, the impact of climate change is more visible in the agricultural sector, especially in farmlands and crop yield in recent time, that is why farmers needed somewhere or financial indemnity to fall back to.
“It is dangerous for any farmer to contemplate planting and going into other agricultural value chain production without securing an insurance policy if not for anything, but to protect such farmer from climate change effect,” he said.
The branch manager attributed the reluctance of some farmers taking up agricultural policy due to ignorance and negative orientation about insurance itself.
“With the training here today, farmers are enlightened to see the need and benefit of taking up an insurance policy whether it covers the whole agricultural activity or some parts of it.
“You see, some people even without getting any personal experience had already concluded with negative stereotype that insurance companies cannot be trusted for claims. But, this is not true.
“We have reputable insurance companies that stand by their words and pay their claims as expected without injecting any bad faith with their clients or farmers involved,” he said.